- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
For a Saturday game at Queensland’s Metricon Stadium, the Round 8 clash between the teams placed 14th and 16th on the ladder, Gold Coast and Melbourne, holds special significance for one of the Demons’ all-time greats.
Given he isn’t on the club’s injury list and despite being criticised this year for being below par – though he hasn’t finished lower than sixth in the weekly disposals column – there is a very strong likelihood that Nathan Jones will take the field in the 13th clash between the two clubs since the Suns joined the AFL in 2011.
If he does so, it will be his 272nd game and he will join the player many believe to be Melbourne’s greatest player of all time, Robert Flower, who played for the club between 1973 and 1987.
The similarities between these two great champions are striking. Both were recruited as teenagers from the beach suburbs of Melbourne. Both came to the club with big reputations. Although Nathan Jones tasted some finals success in his first year, both suffered many years of lack of success before tasting finals football towards the end of their careers. Both wore the No. 2 jumper with distinction throughout their whole careers – in fact when Jones equals Flower wearing the jumper on Saturday, there will be only three AFL players who have worn the coveted jumper more often – and both captained the Demons for many years. Of similar height, both won the club’s best and fairest and both have almost identical win-loss records
However, there the similarities cease. Remarkably, Robbie Flower never played in a drawn game for Melbourne whereas Nathan Jones has played in three so far. Also remarkable is that Flower won only one best and fairest whereas Jones won three in succession between 2012 and 2014. As a goal scorer Flower was far superior, particularly as he played on the wing most of his career. He kicked 315 goals, which places him in ninth position on Melbourne’s all-time top 100 goal scorers, whereas Jones has kicked 135 goals and sits at equal number 51 on the list.
The most glaring difference between the two is their playing weight. Despite the best efforts of Melbourne’s fitness advisors in the 1970s and 1980s, they were never able to beef up Flower’s thin 68-kilogram frame. On the other hand, the extremely fit Jones weighs in at 87 kilograms, making him 19 kilos heavier and earning him the nickname ‘Chunk’.
In the event of Gold Coast winning the game on Saturday night and raining on Jones’s parade, they will have to break Melbourne’s six-win streak against them, which started in 2015. If they do, it will mean Nathan Jones will have played in 184 losses, giving him a loss ratio of 67.6 per cent, exactly the same as Robert Flower.
Aaron Young (Gold Coast) will play his 100th game of AFL, the first 76 games having been played with Port Adelaide, and Tom McDonald (Melbourne) will equal the games tally of Brownlow Medallist Brian Wilson at the Demons.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.